Canadiens make all the right moves

MONTREAL— The initial wave of National Hockey League free-agent signings has ebbed and general manager Pierre Gauthier stuck to his game plan of promoting stability for the Montreal Canadiens.

Gauthier kept the core of last season’s team together and filled one of the team’s most pressing needs by signing Erik Cole, a power forward who can play on the right side. Cole brings size, speed, a nose for the net and some veteran leadership to Montreal. His passion for the team and the market were evident when he spoke with the local media in a 21-minute conference call last week.

With 19 players under contract and negotiations pending with defenceman Josh Gorges and forward Ryan White, it would appear that Gauthier has finished his off-season chores, but there are still matters that deserve his attention.

At a news conference to discuss the Canada Day acquisition of Cole and backup goaltender Peter Budaj, Gauthier was asked whether he intended to pursue another defenceman and he responded by saying: “I think we have a full stable of defencemen.”

While the expected signing of Gorges and the addition of newcomers Raphael Diaz and Alexei Yemelin give the Canadiens eight warm bodies, it should be remembered that Gauthier offered Roman Hamrlik a one-year deal to stick around and this is a team that likes to cover all bases.

Don’t be surprised if the Canadiens go shopping for an experienced third-pair defenceman with some size. Possible candidates include six-foot, 228-pound Shane O’Brian, who made US$1.6-million in Nashville last season, and six-foot-two, 211-pound Steve Eminger, who made US$1.5-million with the New York Rangers.

The addition of Cole gives head coach Jacques Martin seven players to juggle on the top two lines, but Gauthier might want to think about adding some grit on the bottom two lines. Zenon Konopka is still available. He’s a classic enforcer — 307 penalty minutes and 25 fights last season with the New York Islanders — but he has enough ability to average 10 minutes a game and win 57.7% of his faceoffs which is better than anyone on the Montreal roster last season.

Free agency also means losing some players. Gauthier tried to keep Hamrlik, but the veteran Czech found the two-year deal he wanted in Washington.

Keeping defenceman James Wisniewski would have been a luxury, but Gauthier knew someone would overpay for his services and Columbus gave him US$33-million for six seasons. The Wiz was a great guy to have in the dressing room and most people are hoping that he’s the next Mark Streit and not the next Sheldon Souray or Mike Komisarek, two guys whose careers have been marred by injury and disappointment since leaving Montreal.

The Canadiens decided they weren’t interested in keeping backup goaltender Alex Auld, centre Jeff Halpern and underachieving winger Benoit Pouliot. Auld’s departure was the biggest surprise because he did everything a backup was supposed to do last season.

Halpern gave everything he had and was the team’s best faceoff man at 56.9%, but he recently turned 35 and the Canadiens want to see more of youngsters David Desharnais and Lars Eller.